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« New Science, New Solutions Explored at Heinz Conference | Main | Inspiring Day in Pittsburgh »
Feeding the kids and caring for the planet? Yes we can.
Chef, author (and mom) Aviva Goldfarb knows first hand what can happen at 6 PM on any given night in a busy family: chaos.
Luckily, she's been helping families convert that chaos (hungry kids, tired parents, no dinner!) into a more organized, pleasant, and healthy mealtime. When we stare blankly at the fridge, hoping for a miracle, Goldfarb delivers with her online meal planning service, the Six O'Clock Scramble. The Scramble's mission is music to my ears: to help busy parents make healthy meals in a hurry by helping them plan ahead for a week of meals. What's not to love?
The Scramble goes earth-friendly
This month, Goldfarb added a new cookbook to the mix: SOS! The Six O'Clock Scramble to the Rescue: Earth-Friendly, Kid-Pleasing Dinners for Busy Families. Which is great news because after getting food on the table and trying my darndest to make it healthy, it often feels like there's no chance to factor the planet in there, too!
But there is.
Thanks to Goldfarb's new cookbook, which infuses earth-friendliness right into the Scramble planning. The recipes are organized by season to help you choose seasonal produce (without thinking too hard about it). She highlights EWG's Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which helps people buy organic on a budget by listing the fruits and veggies with the highest and lowest pesticide residues - also known as "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Clean 15."
The book is also peppered with helpful tips on incorporating green habits into the family routine, from reusable shopping bags to simple food scrap composting.
Dig in - it's Earth Week!
Since Earth Day is tomorrow, why not program healthy, earth-friendly eating into your lifestyle today? You can easily start with small steps.
Here are Goldfarb's 7 tips you can use right now to make a sustainable difference:
- Start Composting
- Cut out meat for at least one meal per week
- Bring reusable shopping bags to the grocery store each time you shop
- Vow to pack trash-free lunches with reusable containers, and even cloth napkins
- Shop local - with weekly trips to your local farm markets or even participation in a CSA
- Eat seasonally - the taste is better and the reduced distance travelled makes a big impact on the environment
- Plan and organize your meals to make only one trip to the store per week - you'll conserve gas and reduce food waste
Want to unscramble dinnertime at your house?
Goldfarb has a blog (the Scramblog, natch!), is on Twitter (@theScramble), and of course you can grab a copy of her new cookbook.
Check out this great interview with the author on Planet Green, who named her a Change Maker - with good reason.
I was all excited about this book, until I realized it was not a vegetarian cookbook. Wouldn't the most earth friendly way of cooking be veg?
Thanks for your interest. Ideally we would all be vegetarians, I agree. But this book is especially geared to the many people who aren't ready to go meatless, but do want to learn how to prepare more meatless family friendly meals, or meals that feature sustainable fish, or want to learn more about what else they can do to "green" their meals, such as eat seasonally and shop locally, compost, waste less food with weekly meal planning, bring reusable bags to the store, pack waste-free lunches, and so on. I've heard from many people already that the book is helping them reduce their meat consumption and inspiring them to practice some of these other pillars of an earth-friendly diet. Hope you give it a chance!
This is a terrific lists. I was happy to see that I am already doing most of the items on the list and can fine-tune and accomplish all seven. Good luck to others who are giving these a try. If 7 is too much, just start with 1!
I would like to mention a different book, Greenopia, it is the Green version of the Zagat Survey, they had covered 3 cities the last I heard about them.